Euronext, the leading pan-European exchange in the Eurozone, announces that Optiq®, its new cutting-edge trading platform, is now live on cash markets, including equities, structured products, ETFs and fixed income. Optiq® is an agile and high-performing platform that gives investors access to trading across all asset classes available on Euronext’s pan-European exchanges.

Developed in-house by Euronext teams in close collaboration with clients, Optiq® provides cutting-edge performance in terms of latency as well as time to market and flexibility. With modular architecture and the latest generation of components, the platform facilitates the introduction of new products and functionalities for the benefit of Euronext’s clients.

Optiq® has demonstrated an average performance latency of as low as 15 micro-seconds for order roundtrip as well as for market data, and is highly scalable to accommodate unlimited capacity. Since it went live on 25 June, the platform has handled more than 14 billion messages  and 18.8 million trades. Optiq® comes with improved surveillance and monitoring services which, in addition to its technological performance, equip Euronext’s markets and clients with a highly resilient platform, in particular in times of volatility.

The introduction of Optiq® on cash markets follows the implementation of the Market Data Gateway in July 2017 and the migration of fixed income instruments to the platform in April 2018[1]. The final step in Optiq®’s deployment will be to migrate Euronext derivatives markets to the new platform next year. Euronext will continue to work closely with its clients to optimise the use of the platform and make the most of Optiq®’s technological advantages for their benefit.

For Euronext, this new milestone brings a significant reduction in hardware footprint and a tenfold increase in capacity. It also paves the way for the migration of Euronext Dublin’s cash markets onto Optiq®, which is planned in Q4 2018[2]. Optiq® will also power Euronext’s new ETF MTF as part of the Agility for Growth strategic plan.

Euronext offers Optiq® to other leading exchanges and venue operators; Luxembourg Stock Exchange is already benefiting from Optiq® and five other exchanges around the world have begun Optiq® migration projects.

Stéphane Boujnah, Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of the Managing Board of Euronext, said: “The delivery of Optiq® for our cash equity products is a turning point for Euronext. Proprietary technology is the propelling power of stock exchanges, and our new platform will enhance our agility and independence, strengthen the value proposition of our federal model, and foster innovation, for the full benefit of our clients. We remain fully committed to provide our clients with the most effective and relevant service in Europe, and we are proud of what the Euronext teams have achieved, rounding out the execution of our Agility for Growth strategy.”

Source : Euronext

Veronica Taylor, head of Euronext Block, said:

Exciting times! Very proud to have been a part of the Optiq experience. Big congrats to everyone that worked on getting this off the ground, & to our members and technology partners, who were all key in making this important milestone a success! #euronext https://t.co/KJusy086k9

— Veronica Taylor (@veronicat_enxt) July 10, 2018